Marion Council and State Government fund big adventure playground at Glenthorne National Park
A massive nature playground – set to rival St Kilda’s famous adventure playground – will be built at Glenthorne Farm as part of the new multimillion-dollar Glenthorne National Park.
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Glenthorne Farm will be home to a multimillion-dollar landmark playground – set to become the “St Kilda of the south” – under a plan by Marion Council and the State Government.
The council has agreed to tip $2 million into the project that will form part of the $20 million creation of Glenthorne National Park.
Designs for the nature-based playground – similar to the popular play area opened at Morialta in 2017 – will now be commissioned, with the equipment set to open next year.
The government has not set a fixed budget for the project and will fund any costs above the $2 million provided by Marion.
Environment Minister David Speirs said the playground would be a “must-visit” destination and he hoped it would attract thousands of families to the national park.
“We want this to become the St Kilda of the south and we will be looking at other successful nature play areas such as the one at Morialta to make sure this becomes South Australia’s premier adventure playground,” Mr Speirs said.
Marion Mayor Kris Hanna said the playground would be a “wonderful feature” and – with the wider Glenthorne project – create a “new era of public enjoyment” in the southern suburbs.
He said he had been campaigning for open space at the sprawling site for 20 years.
“Glenthorne is a very special part of the Marion Council area,” Mr Hanna said.
“Our local community and families far and wide will enjoy it for generations to come.”
The government signed a memorandum of understanding with University of Adelaide in 2018 to take ownership of Glenthorne Farm.
When complete, it will combine Glenthorne Farm with O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park, Hallett Cove and Marino conservation parks, Happy Valley Reservoir and Field River Valley to create a 1500ha national park – the second in Adelaide.
Fishing, sailing and revegetation will be part of the project.